Chapter 29
***
Seo Do-gyeom was acting strange.
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom thinks of Baek I-hae before falling asleep.]
“……”
He was definitely acting strange. Baek I-hae blinked in surprise.
It was time for bed after he’d helped her with her studies, and now a status window had popped up, saying he was alone in his room thinking about her.
Baek I-hae was genuinely confused.
“What’s gotten into him all of a sudden? Don’t tell me he’s actually fallen for me…?”
Lying in bed, she quickly sat up and pondered it seriously.
She’d been worrying about how to pair him with Ye Eun-seol, and now she was destined to become Seo Do-gyeom’s first love!
‘I’m not sure if it’s his first love, but that blockhead probably doesn’t have any experience liking another girl.’
If he’d ever liked someone before, he would’ve realized long ago that his feelings for Baek I-hae were romantic.
It didn’t feel bad to have the handsome male lead from the original story liking her. Honestly, it made her toes tingle with a soft, fuzzy warmth.
But she couldn’t just let herself get carried away with excitement—Seo Do-gyeom already had someone meant for him. Plus, he was the character who’d send Baek I-hae back to her original world.
Yes, a character.
‘Get a grip. No matter how real it feels, this is just a game world.’
Even if everything seemed utterly lifelike, it was a world she’d have to leave someday. A world with no place for Baek I-hae.
She couldn’t let herself get deluded. Right now, both she and Seo Do-gyeom were just mistaken.
They’d grown too comfortable around each other, that was all.
“Status window. No, Player?”
[Player: ?]
She worried for a split second that it might ignore her call, but thankfully, a message appeared right in front of her like a status window.
“Is Ye Eun-seol really the female lead from the original story?”
[Player: Yeah.]
She’d suspected it, but to think Ye Eun-seol was truly the original female lead. She’d thought about how the appearance and the timing of her transfer matched perfectly!
Baek I-hae, feeling oddly tense, asked the question that had been bothering her the most.
“Then, to see a happy ending, I have to pair Seo Do-gyeom with Ye Eun-seol… right?”
Unlike before, there was no immediate response. Wondering if it was ignoring her, she was about to call out again when a new message appeared before her.
[Information that could influence the game’s progression cannot be obtained.]
“No, this is the most important and basic info!”
[Even if you yell like that, there’s nothing I can do. Stop whining.]
“I’m not whining! Ah, seriously. Just talk normally. It creeps me out, like I’m chatting with an AI.”
At least the Player’s chat window felt like talking to a person.
Baek I-hae let out a deep sigh and flopped back onto the bed. The status window followed her gaze, now floating on the ceiling.
“What happens if Seo Do-gyeom likes me?”
[Player: ??]
“He seems interested in me right now. Well, at that age, interest in the opposite sex is pretty high.”
She said it jokingly, but she was tense about the response that would follow. A tiny part of her wondered if it might say it was fine to end up with Seo Do-gyeom just like this.
She didn’t even know why she was hoping for that.
[Player: Do you really think Seo Do-gyeom liking you would lead to a happy ending?]
But the Player’s words poured cold water on Baek I-hae’s expectations, as if mocking them.
It even felt like it was scoffing at the idea that such a thing could actually happen.
Feeling a bit upset, she replied irritably.
“But Seo Do-gyeom might already like me. You can’t just change someone’s feelings easily, and Ye Eun-seol is a guy—what am I supposed to do?”
[Player: Figure out what you can do. I’ve already told you the conditions.]
The conditions the Player had laid out were simple.
First, achieve a happy ending that everyone would acknowledge.
Second, adjust the level of brutality.
Third, create an ending where the female lead… is truly happy.
‘Ah, the female lead.’
Recalling the conditions made her realize how meaningless her question had been.
From the start, Baek I-hae wasn’t the female lead, so she didn’t fit the criteria for a happy ending.
In that case, she needed to turn Seo Do-gyeom’s feelings around quickly. For now, it was probably just curiosity.
“Damn Player. You’re really annoying.”
[Player: If I’m annoying, I’ll live long.]
The response was annoyingly smug.
Ignoring it, she pulled the blanket over her head. As a silent declaration that she wouldn’t continue the conversation, the Player’s chat popped up again.
Baek I-hae didn’t look at it.
[Player: The conditions are simple. I hope you find the answer without taking the long way around.]
It was kind advice, but it felt like something said knowing she wouldn’t see it.
She squeezed her eyes shut just like that. The Player and Seo Do-gyeom’s status windows were no longer visible, but her heart pounded heavily.
‘I’m not the female lead.’
Yet Seo Do-gyeom was clearly aware of Baek I-hae. He even thought of her as lovely.
That fact kept lingering in her mind, refusing to fade.
‘The one Seo Do-gyeom is supposed to like isn’t me.’
But if he would eventually return to Ye Eun-seol in the end, couldn’t she hold onto this fleeting role as his first love for just a little while?
Unlike the original story, the Seo Do-gyeom she knew now wasn’t all that intimidating, and though he could be awkward, he took care of her in his own way.
Baek I-hae buried her face in her pillow. If Seo Do-gyeom could see a status window like hers, it might’ve told him that she was thinking of him now, her heart fluttering.
‘Good thing only I can see it.’
Though her face was pressed into the pillow, her ears, which she hadn’t managed to hide, burned a bright red.
***
Morning broke.
Baek I-hae, having barely slept, dragged herself to the kitchen with a somewhat hollow look.
“Noona, what’s with your face? Did you dream of ghosts or something last night?”
Seo-yeol, who’d come down earlier, rushed over with a startled expression at the sight of her. His concern was so endearing that she reached out and ruffled his hair.
Breakfast was already prepared, and only Seo I-heum and Seo-yeol were there.
“Seo Do-gyeom hasn’t come down yet?”
“Hyung said he had something to do and left early. He said you two should go to school together today.”
Something to do?
Baek I-hae’s eyes widened in curiosity, but she soon nodded.
Truth be told, she felt a bit lighter knowing the source of her sleepless night wasn’t around.
“Sit down.”
Seo I-heum spoke as usual, his eyes on some documents. The words were directed at Baek I-hae and Seo-yeol, who hadn’t yet taken their seats.
Now accustomed to the routine, she found her place and sat down. Seo I-heum, still focused on his papers, asked without looking up,
“I-hae, you’re not sick, are you?”
When had he even glanced at her face?
She was just a bit tired, not ill, so she flashed a smile to reassure him.
With her fair skin and dark circles under her eyes, though, it wasn’t exactly convincing.
“I just didn’t sleep well last night. I’m not sick, so don’t worry.”
Across the table, Seo-yeol muttered something about how it must’ve been a ghost dream, his face tinged with genuine sympathy.
It seemed he’d misunderstood something, probably thinking she was as big a scaredy-cat as the Seo brothers.
“Ghosts are just superstition.”
Whether it was Seo-yeol’s comment or a report from Old Man Oh, Seo I-heum seemed to know about last night’s events.
He had a way of seeming indifferent while being surprisingly aware of the smallest details about his children.
“Nothing—human or ghost—can threaten you. So don’t worry and get some good sleep tonight.”
It was as if he was saying he’d protect them, so they could rest easy.
Baek I-hae gave a small smile, her heart warming as she nodded. As they began eating, she glanced at the empty seat across from her.
‘What could he be doing? Even after Chai Ryeong left, he used to come pick me up in the mornings.’
She’d found it annoying at the time, but now that Seo Do-gyeom wasn’t here, she felt oddly empty.
Her appetite was gone. She picked at her food listlessly.
Seo I-heum glanced at Baek I-hae’s gaze drifting toward Seo Do-gyeom’s empty seat.
A faint smile, almost imperceptible, crossed his face, but it was so fleeting that no one noticed.
